[Dailydrool] Veterinary dentist

[Sabrina]

Our Buddy came to rescue at 9, and at that time the rescue vet pulled 
8 teeth. He's now 12. He's always been skittish about having anyone 
near his mouth, and I've never been able to brush his teeth. He has 
bad breath and dirty teeth, so we decided to try the anesthesia-free 
dental offered at our vet. We gave Buddy a tranquilizer prescribed by 
the vet an hour before his appointment. The hygienist said that he 
thinks the tranquilizers take at least 2 hours to work. Well, that 
didn't work. With a belly rub, the hygienist got Buddy to lie down on 
his side; but when he took Buddy's mouth in hand and tried to open 
his mouth, Buddy swung his big head and let out a threatening bellow 
that made the hygienist quickly drop his hands. That was about 4 
hours ago; now, Buddy is practically unconscious from the 
tranquilizer, snoozing at home on his bed.

The hygienist said that from his quick look, Buddy has gingivitis and 
very bad teeth. He really needs dental work. Buddy had blood work 
last month and the vet said he could have anesthesia, but the dentals 
are done by a vet tech. I think that vets (vet techs) generally pull 
too many teeth during routine dentals; and Buddy's already missing 8 
teeth. I'm considering taking him to a veterinary dentist. It will be 
expensive; but Buddy's 12 and has a very bad back; it just seems 
safer having the work done by a Board certified veterinary dentist 
rather than a vet tech. Has anyone faced this decision?

Sabrina, Buddy + Ellie